Bruce T. Lamont

Knowledge management systems and developing sustainable competitive advantage

Esta tesis analiza la relacion entre la gestion del conocimiento y las capacidades dinamicas, relacion poco explorada en paises en via de desarrollo. Teoricamente, las hipotesis planteadas en este estudio se asocian a partir de los principios de la Vision de la Firma basada en Recursos, la cual senala que el conocimiento es un recurso que posibilita la formulacion, la restructuracion y la implementacion de estrategias competitivas. En esta investigacion se formulan relaciones entre las dimensiones claves de la gestion del conocimiento (creacion, transferencia y uso de conocimiento) y las dimensiones claves de las capacidades dinamicas (monitoreo, aprendizaje, integracion, coordinacion y reconfiguracion), las cuales fueron probadas en una muestra importante de organizaciones intensivas en informacion y conocimiento de Colombia, mediante un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales (SEM) en Smartpls3. Los resultados advierten el impacto positivo de la gestion del conocimiento en las capacidades dinamicas, encontrandose relaciones que varian en intensidad entre las dimensiones-constructos fundamentales de ambas variables. Empresarialmente, estos resultados implican que la renovacion estrategica de una compania depende de su capacidad para gestionar el conocimiento.Recent literature in the strategic management field suggests that firms must learn to re‐bundle internal competencies and resources in order to maintain competitive advantages over time. Utilizing the resource‐based view of the firm and dynamic capabilities perspectives, this paper examines the roles that absorptive and transformative capacity play in organizational innovation, with specific emphasis placed on the role and effectiveness of knowledge management systems as a determinant of innovation practices.

The effect of the acquisition of technological innovations on organizational performance: A resource-based view

Abstract This study examined the relationship between the acquisition of technological innovations and organizational performance using the framework of firm resource-based theory, as proposed by Barney [Barney, J., 1991. Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. J. Manage. 17, 99–120]. It was hypothesized that there would be a significant and positive relationship between the acquisition of technological innovations and organizational performance. It was further hypothesized that this relationship would be moderated by the extent to which the technological innovations were simultaneously valuable, imperfectly imitable, and rare. A sample of 189 Florida hospitals was used in the study. A positive and significant relationship was found between the acquisition of medical technological innovations and hospital financial performance, and the relationship was found to be strongest when the hospitals medical technologies were simultaneously valuable, imperfectly imitable, and rare.

Mode of Corporate Diversification and Economic Performance

In this article the authors discuss research they conducted on the diversification strategies used by multibusiness corporations. Two of the strategies that they identify include internal diversifi...

Organizational form and environment: an analysis of between-form and within-form responses to environmental change

This study extends previous research on organizational adaptation to major environmental shifts by empirically examining the potential constraining effects of organizational form, operationalized using the Miles and Snow typology, on the type of responses enacted as well as the performance effects of the responses. Results indicate that a fit between environmental contingencies and organizational form relates to superior performance. The results also provide support for the idea that organizations systematically move toward the higher‐performing forms for a given environment. Consistent with organizational configuration logic, while these responses lead to performance improvements when a between‐form change is made, they do not necessarily lead to performance improvements when a within‐form change is made. Copyright

Choice Situation, Refocusing, and Post-Bankruptcy Performance:

The current study sheds additional light on how and when firms improve their performance after having filed for Chapter 11 reorganization protection. Based on the work of Hrebiniak and Joyce [Administrative Science Quarterly 30 (1985) 336] and Marlin, Lamont and Hoffman [Strategic Management Journal 15 (1994) 229], a framework is developed that identifies which distressed firms have the best chances of surviving bankruptcy and the extent to which refocusing, a popularly prescribed remedy for these ailing firms, will aid their plight. The results demonstrate the utility of viewing bankruptcy reorganizations as different choice situations, where firms have varying levels of strategic choice, determined largely by their stockpiles of redeployable resources, and face different degrees of environmental constraint. Only firms with relatively high strategic choice or low environmental constraint were found to benefit from refocusing actions. That is, the performance effects of at least one popular remedy, refocusing-type business portfolio initiatives, appear contingent on the choice situation confronting firms under Chapter 11 protection.

Performance During “M-Form” Reorganization and Recovery Time: The Effects of Prior Strategy and Implementation Speed

Taking a different tack from previous work on the performance effects of “M-form” adoption, this study examined performance deterioration during reorganization periods and the subsequent time requi...

The Effect of Firm Profit versus Personal Economic Well Being on the Level of Ethical Responses Given by Managers

Members of organizations are continually making decisions that have important consequences for themselves and the firms for which they work. In some cases these decisions affect human well being and social welfare and thus have important ethical impacts for those affected by the decisions.This study examines if certain strategic situations (enhancement of firm profits versus personal economic well being) cause decision makers to act more or less ethically. A questionnaire consisting of two vignettes which depicted actual business situations was used to collect data from 171 managers of a large Southeastern financial and communication conglomerate. Results from multivariate repeated measures tests suggest that managers will vary their level of ethical response when faced with a situation where their own economic well being is at stake.

“IDEAL” ACQUISITION INTEGRATION APPROACHES IN RELATED ACQUISITIONS OF EQUALS: A TEST OF LONG-HELD BELIEFS

Despite the recent slow down in overall activity, acquisitions continue to be a popular growth strategy used by firms competing in a globally competitive marketplace (Duck, Sirower & Dumas, 2002). At the same time, acquisitions are more of a complex phenomenon than ever in that the conditions under which they enhance or destroy firm value still remain unclear despite the wealth of acquisition studies in finance and management. In fact, recent studies by several major consulting and advisory services firms provide evidence that at a minimum one-third to one-half of these deals fail to achieve anticipated benefits, cost savings and other outcomes (KPMG, 1999; Mergerstat, 2000; PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2000). Even more alarming, the latest reports released by Booz Allen and Hamilton (2001) and BusinessWeek (Henry, 2002) indicate that this “failure” to deliver announced benefits and improvements in shareholder wealth increases to over 60% when examining large M&As which typically bring together two firms that not only compete in similar product or market domains but also have comparable size positions. Thus, the question lingers…What distinguishes those acquisitions that are successful in meeting intended goals and performance improvements from those that are not successful?

The Evolution from E-Commerce to M-Commerce: Pressures, Firm Capabilities and Competitive Advantage in Strategic Decision Making

This study focuses on the isomorphic pressures and firm capabilities that affect strategic decision-making in organizations in the context of m-commerce. The authors take into consideration that the three isomorphic forces set forth by DiMaggio and Powell 1983, mimetic, coercive and normative pressures, work together to impact strategic decisions based on stakeholder influences. This study found that the effects of mimetic pressures seen in results of previous studies may be the result of model misspecification. Findings also indicate that firms want to leverage capabilities gained from e-commerce in the m-commerce wave in order to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace

Mergers and Acquisitions in Africa: A Review and an Emerging Research Agenda

This article identifies and reviews existing merger and acquisition (M&A) studies focused on African markets. In this review, the factors mentioned directly or alluded to in the existing studies that distinguish African countries as target nations from other countries traditionally considered in the M&A literature are highlighted. Also reported are the results from a series of in-depth interviews with executives intimately involved with M&As in Africa. These interviews highlight some of the idiosyncratic features of the African context that bring to the forefront boundary conditions of, and the need to expand, existing M&A research based on acquisitions in the more developed regions of North America and Western Europe. The paper concludes with a synthesis of the conclusions from the authors’ review of the literature with the insights offered from their executive interviews to chart a roadmap for future research designed to enhance our understanding of M&As in general. The African context appears particularly appropriate for extending our knowledge of institutional theory, the development of selection capabilities, learning and knowledge transfer theories, the role of cultural differences in cross-border M&A, organizational justice theory, a subset of institutional theory on institutional legacies, and social dominance theory.